LED vs CFL vs T5 Fluro

Hi All,

Currently I have a 400w HPS in a small wardrobe closet (2 x 4 x 6)

I wanted to replace HPS with something that did not emit heat and was quieter...

Does anyone have any suggestions as far as LED, CFL, or T5 or any combo of these to match the performance of the 400w HPS?

Also... does anyone have any opinion on the LED panels (www.LEDwholesalers.com - LED Grow Light Panel 225 LED 110 Volt)

Thanks

i know youre looking for an alternative, but dude i would stick with the 400watt. you're not gonna find anything to match your 400watt unless you invest alot of $ - and even then dude, CFL weed is whispy and mediocre - i dont care what ppl say..ive seen/smoked it, i would never use them. i wouldnt go with LED either, ppl who say "LEDs are the future!!!" generally have a low post count and probably just saw a certain thread where the LEDs are doing an okay job of veg. as for T5's, that would probably be your best bet mixed with CFLs. i use an 80watt t12 + 130watts of CFLs for vegging, but id never rely on cfl/led/t5 to produce huge thick buds. i dont want ppl to harass me over my stance on CFL/LEDs, they will definately grow good herb - just not as well as HID lights.

here's an idea, you could veg with CFLs and a T5 and then switch to the 400watt for flowering! they would stretch like crazy, id advise getting like 200 watts of daylight CFLs and a cheap T5 fixture for vegging. HTGSupply.com has everything you need, and youll see LEDs are quite expensive - go with what works dude.

Many thanks man!!! Thats exactly what I was looking for. Any suggestions on a better bulb for the 400W hps; I'm coming up on replacement time...

hortilux-eye all the way! those are the best bulbs by far, very reputable and worthwhile.

yeah so far from the research done... LED is not, yet, the way to go... i have no been able to find one flowering pic with an LED.... probably going to stick to the HPS with a few upgrades... the LED technology is just not proven....

I use LED and it is amazing, I dont care what the sceptics say. I combine LED with T5 and it is better than any setup I've had before. Plus its sooo much cheaper to run and NO heat signature, no temp worries. The plant can even grow right up on the led and it will not burn. A good investment IMHO, but use what you got for now, I know I would if I were you.

yeah that sounds like a great setup... i have some t5's in a seperate grow and theyre wonderful... im thinking of adding 2 of those in or maybe 2 panels vertically with the 400hps.... thoughts?

hey can anyone help me out with what type of lights/ and how many watts i need for probly around 25 plants? thanks alot.. i was thinking about just going and buying some flouresent tubes.. any suggestions without having to go to a speacialty store.

*BoNg:toKer$ said:

hey can anyone help me out with what type of lights/ and how many watts i need for probly around 25 plants? thanks alot.. i was thinking about just going and buying some flouresent tubes.. any suggestions without having to go to a speacialty store.

Click to expand...

400w hps atleast for each plant if you want to get good results. or any combo of anything else that equates to the same.

dude switch to LED and sell me ur hps give ya 150

My LED+CFL+T5 combo does not produce as big a yield as HPS, no question about that, but it doesn't effect the strength of the resulting product. In fact, I think mine might even be stronger, just not as much quanity. That being said, there is a variation in how different strains grow under my setup. Some might grow like shit. If I hadn't built up my stuff piece by piece, and I was starting from scratch, I would go 400 watt HPS with maybe a MH conversion bulb for veg.